Spanish rescuers bore tunnel in frantic search for toddler

MADRID (AP) - Rescuers in southern Spain are digging a horizontal tunnel in an attempt to reach the bottom of a deep and narrow borehole where they hope to find a 2-year-old toddler, two days after he disappeared.

The 100-meter (330-feet)-deep shaft is too narrow for an adult to enter. It was bored last month during water prospection works and was left unmarked.

Maria Gamez, Spain's top official in the Malaga province, says the new tunnel will help rescuers who failed to extract soil from the well with heavy suctioning machinery during overnight works.

She says a hard rock has impeded machinery from passing beyond the 80-meter mark down the borehole.

The boy disappeared on Sunday at a family gathering in a mountainous area northeast of the provincial capital.

Emergency services look for a 2 year old boy who fell into a well, in a mountainous area near the town of Totalan in Malaga, Spain, Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. More than 100 firefighters and emergency workers in southern Spain are searching for a 2-year-old toddler who fell into a narrow and deep well on Sunday. Rescuers believe the boy fell into the 100-meter-deep well after walking away from his parents. (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)

Emergency services look for a 2 year old boy who fell into a well, in a mountainous area near the town of Totalan in Malaga, Spain, Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. More than 100 firefighters and emergency workers in southern Spain are searching for a 2-year-old toddler who fell into a narrow and deep well on Sunday. Rescuers believe the boy fell into the 100-meter-deep well after walking away from his parents. (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)

Emergency team members look for a boy fell into the 100-meter-deep waterhole in a mountainous area near the town of Totalan in Malaga, Spain, Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. More than 100 firefighters and emergency workers in southern Spain are searching for a 2-year-old toddler who fell into a narrow and deep well on Sunday. Rescuers believe the boy fell into the 100-meter-deep well after walking away from his parents. (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)